Re: Morning Glory -Convolvulus arvensis
- Subject: Re: Morning Glory -Convolvulus arvensis
- From: B* B*
- Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 05:55:47
Oh, My, Goddddd, I missed the beginning of this thread...you mean someone
was actually planning to intentionally PLANT the stuff?!!!!
Sputter...koff....choke...
Seriously...don't even think about it. Not only will you share the rest of
the garden with it, your neighbors will share their garden with it. It does
seed as well. As far as a ground cover - well, it spreads in every possible
direction, but mostly looks for something to crawl upwards on. It is the
kudzu of the Northwest. It got into my raspberries while I was away -- when
I got back this spring, what I found was an entire patch of canes on the
ground horizontal, covered by a network of "morning glory" stems from the
previous year. The worst thing is, unlike vines such as Passiflora caerulea
which is a problem in California but which you can fairly easily rip out
when you see a sucker, Calystegia creeps up unseen from the base of the
plant. When you finally see it, it is all wound around everything and is
already sending roots to its next quadrant... A local radio garden show
host said that there was a theory that there was really only one morning
glory, which was based in Kent, WA....and if you ever tried to follow the
runners, you will believe it. How many times have I yanked a vine, only to
find that 3 feet away, it was wrapped around a new inflorescence of
something nice..."pop"!
Really, there is no end to the bad things I could say about this plant...I
can't think of any weed more insidious I've ever had to deal with. It's so
bad that Northwest gardeners react viscerally to mention of morning glory of
any kind, even the nice "Heavenly Blue" that I miss so much from the midwest
(alas, *that* morning glory is nearly impossible to grow here...)
This plant was originally introduced as an ornamental, because as David
noticed, the flowers really are beautiful. But David...think about all the
vitriol the mere mention of this plant raises...! Do you really want your
name associated with it in a new location? :) :) Oh God, David, Don't Do
It!!!!! :) :)
*whew*, that was cathartic...
Bob
==========
And
>with regard to his further suggestion of encouraging it as a ground
>cover in shade, I would say not unless he is also willing to share the
>rest of the garden with it. Don't be tempted David or you will certainly
>live to regret it!
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